Freezing
Disclaimer: All characters and the world of Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling.
For someone who was known to be the smartest witch Hogwarts had ever seen, Hermione Granger apparently wasn't smart enough when it came to matter of protecting herself from the cold winter day. She had been walking for nearly half an hour in the middle of a light snow, wearing only a shirt and a sweater beneath her Hogwarts robe, which obviously didn't provide enough warmth for her petite body. She looked at the young man walking smugly beside her. He seemed very comfortable and warm in his finely tailored coat and cashmere scarf.
She didn't think it would be this cold when Snape instructed her and Malfoy to collect some ingredients for their next potion project.
"It's cold, isn't it?" Hermione said to the said man who was walking leisurely beside her. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, trying to keep warm. She wasn't even wearing her gloves!
"Mm-hmm." He replied with a hum, at the same time making the gesture of wrapping his coat closer to his body.
"Malfoy, I said, it's cold, isn't it?" Hermione repeated with a huff.
He finally looked down at her since she only stood at 165 centimeters, which placed her slightly above his shoulders. "And I agree with you, Granger, which is why I am wearing my thick warm coat."
"I can see that. And if you are half the gentleman you claim to be, you'd offer your coat to me." She stated indignantly.
Draco scowled. "I will do no such thing, Granger. It isn't my fault you don't bring your own coat. If I give you mine, then I'd freeze."
"So you'd rather let me freeze to death?"
He raised one eyebrow and smirked. "I won't let you freeze to death. Just freeze."
"You're insufferable, Malfoy." She said and then made a move to tug on his coat. "Give me your coat."
"No."
"Malfoy, I'm freezing!" Her teeth clattered, hoping it would obtain his sympathy. "Besides, you still have your jacket underneath and your scarf."
"You're going to have to do better than that, Granger."
"Like what?" She was at a point where she'd be willing to do anything for him.
"Like do my Transfiguration homework for two months."
"No!" All right, almost anything. Hermione had never condoned cheating and she wasn't about to start now, even at the expense of her freezing body.
"One month?"
"No."
"What about two weeks—"
"No, Malfoy!"
"Then you won't get my coat." He said, ignoring the clattering of her teeth. "We still have a few more kilometers to walk, you know."
Hermione shot him a nasty look and cursed Dumbledore in her mumblings for not allowing apparition within Hogwarts. They walked in silent for the next fifteen minutes. Draco was walking comfortably while Hermione was rubbing her arms furiously, trying to induce some warmth.
"Cold, Granger?" He smirked at her and only received an icy glare. "How about this, you give me a kiss, and I'll lend you my coat."
"A kiss?" She asked and subconsciously touched her lips.
"Yes. A kiss. On the lips." He pointed at his mouth.
"But…"
"I'm waiting, Granger." He said, puckering up his lips in anticipation for a kiss.
"No…"
"Ah, that's too bad then." He shrugged nonchalantly. "You'd have to walk in the cold. And when you get sick, don't blame me. I did try to give my coat to you and—"
"I don't want our first kiss to happen like that." She murmured.
He heard her, which was why he stopped his incessant talking. He looked at her half frozen form and sighed. "Fine. You win."
They stopped walking and Draco began unbuttoning his coat. He shivered a little when the cold wind past by. The castle isn't that far now. It would only be another thirty minutes walk from where they were. He helped her into his coat and then wrapped his scarf around her neck.
Hermione smiled happily and relished in the warmth his coat provided along with the smell of his cologne. "Thank you." She tiptoed and placed a kiss on his cheek.
Draco grinned and they resumed their journey. "So," he slowly took her frozen hand in his, "we have been dating for almost a month. When are you going to give me a real kiss?"
"When are you going to take me out on a date?"
A small frown marred his face. "We had a date last week."
"You mean last week in the Rooms of Requirement when you tried to copy my Ancient Runes homework and bribed me with chocolate frogs and sugar quills?" Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "And you ended up eating them by yourself."
"Well, I offered you some…" Draco looked at her sheepishly. "I will take you out on a date, you know. A real date with all the fancy restaurant, flowers, chocolates and broom rides. Or maybe without the broom ride because I know you're afraid of height. It's just quite hard to plan all of that when nobody knows that we are together."
Hermione's expression softened at his words. She stopped in her tracks and pulled him to her. "I don't need all the fancy things, Draco. I don't care where we have our date. We can even have a date in our common room, just as long as it's with you."
"You are an amazing person, Granger." He smiled at her. "I promised you a date and I will give you the best date you will ever had. And then you can give me my much deserved kiss."
"I don't kiss on first date, Malfoy." Hermione said teasingly.
Draco scowled. "When can I expect to get a kiss then?"
The brown haired witch resumed her path with Draco following closely. "If you behave."
"I am behaving. I didn't pick a fight with Wonder Boy and Weaselbee today."
"Calling them names isn't exactly behaving."
"Well, I did just give you my coat and scarf."
"Duly noted." She grinned.
They walked in silence for the next ten minutes. "You do realise that we have learnt warming spell in our second year, don't you? And being the studious bookworm that you are, I am sure that you've learnt that on your own from some textbook before even stepping into Hogwarts."
Hermione pinched his arm quite painfully. "There is nothing wrong with preparing yourself with knowledge before school begins, but yes, you are right about the spell. I just want you to give me your coat."
He smirked in return. "I thought so." He pulled her closer to him and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Let us go back to our common room quickly so you can make me a glass of hot chocolate with that white fluffy thing."
"You mean marshmallows?"
"Yes, that. "
"I know introducing you to muggles sweet is a bad idea. As if your weekly owl of Honeyduke's finest from your Mother isn't enough." She sighed dramatically. "However, you have been good today, I will give you an extra marshmallow in your hot chocolate."
Draco gave her his winning smile. "Can't wait, Granger."
END
Random moment that just came to mind.
Thank you for reading! :-)